Lincoln cookbook author spells out how to eat the 'Vegan Keto' way

Wednesday

When she was growing up in Bolton, Liz MacDowell said, she felt sick almost all the time.

“I was the kid who was so sick I would miss 30 days of school and they would threaten to hold me back if I missed another day because I was just ill all the time,” said MacDowell.

The story of how the Lincoln resident regained her health is the seed of her new cookbook, “Vegan Keto: 60+ High-Fat Plant-Based Recipes to Nourish Your Mind & Body.”

Despite becoming a vegetarian as a seventh-grader, a meatless diet didn’t help eliminate stomach issues she says were symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS.

But after graduating in 2005 from high school at St. Mark’s School in Southborough, McDowell headed off to McGill University in Montreal where she met new people and learned new ways of eating.

“I started thinking outside the box,” MacDowell said, “and realized I should take a look at what I was eating.”

After graduating with an art history degree, she moved home to Massachusetts and got a job working at Whole Foods in Framingham.

“I didn’t realize there was a deeper level of health and nutrition until I started working at Whole Foods,” MacDowell said. “It was at that point I went gluten free, and at a doctor’s appointment my doctor told me I probably had celiac (disease) because many of my symptoms disappeared after I stopped eating gluten. (Celiac) had never been on the radar of any of my doctors.”

With increased health, she started experimenting with different recipes and she realized she wanted to go back to school to learn more about nutrition. She enrolled in an online holistic nutrition consultant certification program through Bauman College in California.

After getting her nutrition certification, she became a “healthy eating specialist” at Whole Foods’ Wayland store.

“I really started getting into cooking and making up recipes, so I started blogging about all this,” MacDowell said. Her blog is on her website at https://meatfreeketo.com/.

And her health significantly turned around, MacDowell said, after she tried a ketogenic diet that was plant-based.

What is a ketogenic diet?

“In a nutshell, a ketogenic diet is a high-fat, low-carbohydrate, moderate protein way of eating that shifts your body from burning glucose (sugar), for energy to a state of ketosis, in which your body preferentially uses ketone bodies and fat as a fuel source,” writes MacDowell in her book. While meat-based keto diets have become trendy, it is also possible to eat this way eating just plants.

Then MacDowell’s blog caught the eyes of editors at Victory Belt Publishing in Las Vegas, who asked if she’d be interested in writing a cookbook. And so “Vegan Keto: 60+ High-Fat Plant-Based Recipes to Nourish Your Mind & Body” was born.

The well-written and organized 224-page cookbook gives a good introduction to a ketogenic diet, and includes detailed information about macronutrients and micronutrients that are essential to eating healthily on such a diet. “Common Keto Questions” addresses concerns like “How does a plant-based vegetarian, or vegan keto diet different from standard keto?”

With easy-to-make recipes accompanied by color photos, the book also has a four-week trial meal plan, and a great recipe index that also has photos. MacDowell said friends on social media served as recipe testers and offered suggestions when she was developing some of her recipes.

“I’m an advocate for small changes. I don’t think it is all or nothing,” MacDowell said. “Any steps in the right direction are a good improvement. I think you can try to incorporate parts of this diet and see what feels good for your body. … Don’t worry about tracking anything. Keep it super simple.”

Put the kelp noodles in a colander. Rinse thoroughly, then set aside to drain.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the dressing.

Pat the noodles dry and add them to the bowl with the dressing. Toss the noodles in the dressing and let sit for 20 minutes so that the dressing soaks into the noodles and softens them. For a crunchier dish, skip this resting period.

Stir the pepitas into the noodles, then divide the noodles between 2 plates or bowls. Garnish with the carrots, scallions, and sesame seeds